Xbox 360 Arcade Stick Choices

New releases of the popular fighting game classics like Street Fighter IV (February 2009) and Tekken 6 (October 2009) have given a much needed injection into the fighting game community. Bringing in thousands of new players worldwide and fast making 3rd party accessory manufacturers think about giving players the genuine arcade experience from home. Although the traditional Xbox 360 controller has worked seamlessly with many other titles it just doesn't translate well when it comes to fighting games. Complex joystick inputs like the quarter circle forward, half circle back, 360 and 720 moves are difficult at best on the analog or d-pad. Combined with attack button inputs and strict timing near makes it impossible. Many veterans will tell you straight away that getting an arcade stick will fast track your execution and see a jump in your game. Learning motions with your wrist instead of your thumb, and having all your fingers able to push any button is a hell of a lot easier.

So which Xbox arcade stick is for you?

These 2 sticks are my personal favourites:

The Street Fighter IV Tournament Edition Arcade Stick

The Tournament Edition aka the "TE stick" was developed by one of the world's leading 3rd party Xbox peripherals makers MadCatz and coincided with the release of Street Fighter IV back in 2009. They actually released 2 sticks at this time. The TE stick and the SE stick, or Standard Edition. The SE was smaller and used replica arcade parts and was below average quality. Getting back to the TE though...
The Tournament Edition Features:

• Sanwa Denshi authentic Japanese arcade quality buttons and joystick.
• 8 button layout and the ability to assign a multi speed Turbo function to.
• Control panel, giving you easy access to the home button and to lock/unlock the Turbo function. Meaning less chance of accidently activating it in tournament play.
• Same button and stick layout as the Street Fighter IV arcade cabinet.
• 4mt/13ft lag free USB cable with storage compartment on board.
• 3 way control switch allows you to choose between left/right analog stick or D-pad making it more flexible to play other arcade styled games.
• Officially licensed artwork from Capcom

The TE is an all-round stick and for the price it is quite affordable and is a favourite among may top players.

The Hori Real Arcade Pro. EX Premium VLX

Also known as the Hori VLX for short, the VLX is made by well-known Japanese arcade stick makers Hori the VLX is easily the biggest stick on the market and the closest to a real arcade experience possible. It was released in collaboration with Taito, the makers of the official Street Fighter arcade makers.

Features include:

• Uses all arcade Sanwa parts for the joystick and buttons.
• Easy access to the inside of the stick though the face just as you would open an arcade cabinet. Allowing you to Change or replace parts easily.
• Weighing 5Kg, it won't move around much on your lap and won't move at all on a flat surface such as a table.
• Official Taito Vewlix design
• Ample cable storage.
• Turbo function.
• Headphone jack.

Although the VLX has the same parts as the TE its main selling point is its sheer size and quality. The VLX is like a portable version of the real Taito Vewlix arcade machine and gives you a great feeling that you're really playing an arcade game.

For more information of different arcade sticks, such as the Mortal Kombat Arcade Stick check out our Xbox 360 Arcade Stick website.

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